


Please Just Let Emma Rest- No That's Not What I Meant

by PoisonHemloc



Category: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (Video Game)
Genre: Everyone lives!AU, Gen, Sickfic, just to keep people from doing stuff while they're sick, non-consensual drugging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:40:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22963291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoisonHemloc/pseuds/PoisonHemloc
Summary: There is only one patient Emma might see who is good about listening to her and his name is Kuro, aka the one person who can't get sick or hurt.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 44





	Please Just Let Emma Rest- No That's Not What I Meant

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not 100% sure if sickfic is accurate but like. It's people getting sick, so probably. (I'll change it if I'm wrong as long as someone lets me know)

Emma paused for a moment in the barely present light of dawn, listening; but there was no one nearby. She carefully put the jar of sake back in the hiding place Genichiro had described, tucked a now empty envelope into a pocket, and quietly left Isshin’s empty quarters. He had slipped out late the night before, either to hunt for any new spies despite the Interior Ministry swearing they had stopped sending them or to visit a partner somewhere around the castle, and it was rare for him to return from either task before the sun was fully up. 

The first fall since she had cured what had appeared to be his terminal illness was fast approaching and that meant the highest likelihood that he would fall ill again from something. And fate, as it was wont to do, had delivered and several worried people had told her he had started sneezing the day before. It was an open secret that the Interior Ministry had only backed down because Isshin was no longer on his deathbed; any hint of him returning to it would at best throw the slowly progressing peace talks out the window. 

That meant making sure that Isshin took any new illnesses seriously and let himself recover from them, which was quite a task when the man had spent the past 60-odd years of his life only listening to what his doctors told him if it was what he wanted to hear. 

“I’ll go talk to him in an hour; he should be back by then. And when he doesn’t listen you can go make sure he drinks the Ashina sake he has hidden away.” Genichiro was just as, if not more, worried about Isshin’s health than Emma; he remembered the ultimately futile extents he had pushed himself to trying to save his country and did not want to travel that path again. 

“I have a plan to get him to drink and I’ll bring him here once he’s out unless he actually listens to you for once.” Genichiro returned to the paperwork he had been reading, tucked away in a corner of Emma’s operatory. Even if this was just a cold, neither of them were taking chances.

“Lord Isshin, good to see you this morning.” The Tengu mask he never even bothered to hide had a new stain on it.  _ At least he wasn’t spreading the cold _ Emma tried to focus on what she was doing before her imagination could catch up with that. “I beli-”

“Emma, can we skip telling me off for being out last night? I have heard it often enough I could recite it back to you.” He didn’t look injured, but even when he’d been very ill Isshin had never lost his swordsmanship. He did look like he had been pausing to wipe his nose every few minutes; it was red and was on the way to becoming raw.

“I thought you asked Wolf to take care of the rats sneaking in.”

“Sekiro is busy with Kuro and Mizuho, he’s not rat hunting. But the ministry is not going to rest until it’s burned Ashina to the ground, treaty or not.”

“Which is why I need you to  _ rest _ right now, Lord Isshin. A lot of people told me you started sneezing yesterday. We can’t let you get sick, not like last time. We don’t know if it’ll be something I can cure again.”

“I am resting! I stayed on the castle grounds. And now I’m going to check the Nightjar’s reports. You worry too much, Emma.” She recognized his dismissal, bowed and left. 

Genichiro was still sitting in one corner of her operatory, and looked up from reading reports when she entered. He sighed but did not look surprised when no one entered after her.

“It’s on you. He said killing rats is resting and I know he’s going to the dojo the moment he’s done with the Nightjar’s paperwork if he didn’t leave right after I did.”

“I can’t say I’m shocked. Hopefully I’ll be back soon with him.”

“Grandfather?” Surprisingly Isshin was actually doing paperwork; Genichiro also would have expected him to run off again the moment Emma was out of sight. He was sniffling periodically; both of the Ashina men had their colds foretold by losing the ability to breathe through their nose for a few days.

“Genichiro. Are you here to babysit me today?” Isshin grinned; he had probably planned for this. Genichiro saw no reason to convince him otherwise.

“Of course. I had a question for you, actually.” Hopefully this would cause Isshin to drink- Shume had told him he had been ordered not to mention it, and hadn’t told Genichiro anything other than a name for the story- but if not he could just ask to share something. “I was talking with Shume a week or two ago-” Isshin’s grin was suddenly a little forced looking; Shume knew every story Isshin had tried to keep from Genichiro and delighted in telling the most embarrassing ones, “-and he mentioned something he called the “bowstring incident” but he wouldn’t elaborate-” Isshin’s forced grin dropped to a scowl almost instantly; that was promising. “-and since it sounded like something to do with you, I was hoping  _ you _ could tell me-”

“ _ No _ .” And… Isshin reached behind a chest that Genichiro knew had a false back, to the sake Emma was trying futilely to convince Isshin not to drink. He pulled out a jar, quickly enough it was probably the first one he touched. “I am going to gut him.”

“It’s just a story-” Isshin had poured and downed a cup in one fluid motion and cut Genichiro off as he poured a second.

“It’s the _ one  _ story I specifically told him not to mention at all. I’m not going to kill him, Genichiro, calm down, just put him on bed rest for a month. Or two.” Isshin downed his second cup. “He doesn’t know which story that’s supposed to refer to and I was using that so you wouldn’t hear  _ any _ of them and no I am not going to elaborate. You will have to just die unsatisfied.” Now Isshin grabbed a new cup and filled it before handing it to Genichiro. 

“Any other story you haven’t heard I will tell, we agreed. But I am not telling anything covered under that name.”

“...Okay, Grandfather. I’ll pretend I never heard of it.” Isshin held his cup out, and Genichiro filled it, then took a drink when Isshin waited for him. Emma had said the sleeping drug wouldn’t take long to take effect; Genichiro had been hoping to get through this without drugging himself, but had met with the retainers an hour early in case he didn’t have a choice. Isshin spoke as he tried to think of something to say for an excuse to remain until it took effect.

“You had the morning meeting early today to keep me in here me, Genichiro? That doesn’t seem like you. Anyone else can keep this old bastard in one place, you’ve always been focused on your duties.” He was swaying slightly and directed his frown at his cup for a moment before focusing back on his grandson. 

“I’m not allowed to relax and drink with my Grandfather anymore?” Of course he was suspicious, but it looked like Emma’s sleeping powder was working. 

“....This isn’t Ashina sake.” Genichiro was surprised it took him this long to notice; Isshin could drink practically half a jar of Dragonspring by himself and not pass out, though he’d definitely be drunk by that point. Three cups of a weaker sake shouldn’t have him swaying. Isshin’s eye suddenly widened. 

“Genichiro how much did you drink? Spit it out or throw it up, the ministry-”

“It was Emma this morning on my orders, not the ministry.”  _ Oops. _ He should have expected this; if the ministry’s only barrier was Isshin, of course they would try to kill him, but it hadn’t crossed his mind at all. He made a mental note to have some more rigorous standards in place for the food brought to the castle, glad this was just him and Emma scheming. “It’s just a sleeping drug so you don’t go do things while you’re sick, Grandfather.”

“Oh. Can I still ground you two? Maybe I need to talk to Sekijo…” Genichiro caught him before he fell over completely and put his cup down before carefully lifting his grandfather and carrying him back to Emma’s operatory. He could feel his eyelids starting to drop as he got there.

“I had a mouthful; he had three cups and he’s out. Thought the ministry tried to poison him so he’s going to try and ground us when he’s awake.”

“Sorry to hear you’re grounded, but he can’t do anything to me. You can have that pallet.” 

“He said he wants to talk to Orangutan, so good luck with that.” Genichiro did not remember laying down when he woke up; judging by the shadows it had only been an hour or two. Someone had thrown a blanket over him, though. He sat up and looked over to see Isshin still totally out in the sick rooms; the door was only open because Emma was inside, checking on him. She nodded as she walked back into the main area, closing the door behind her.

“Hopefully it’ll be easier to keep him resting here, since he can’t sneak out.”

“Maybe he’ll go a full day without doing something you told him not too.”

“Only if I keep him drugged a full day and I’d rather not. I can lock him in that sickroom though, he can’t get out through the windows.”

“Close enough. Thank you, Emma. I’ll check in again this evening.”

It was only an hour before Genichiro was planning on stopping by Emma’s sickroom when Gyoubu showed up for an audience, trying to conceal a grin and failing. “Lord Genichiro, I have been ordered by Lord Isshin to inform you you are grounded and to be confined in your room for the next week or until Emma releases him from the sickroom, whichever happens first.”

“That’s nice. Did you tell him he can’t ground me anymore?”

“I don’t have a death wish, so no. He was very upset when I came by. Something about thinking both of you were being poisoned.”

“You know him. Emma slipped a sleeping drug in his sake because that was the only way he would rest while he's sick. I hadn’t thought about the ministry trying to poison him, but I’ve been talking with people all day to keep a closer eye on the food they trade us now. I wouldn’t put that past them.”

“Good. He’ll be fine, I think he’s just upset you two outmaneuvered him.” Gyoubu grinned at him as he bowed and left.

Isshin was awake and pissed when Genichiro stopped by. “I believe you’re grounded currently Genichiro, so you better have a good reason to be out of your room.”

“I have three actually. One: I wanted to make sure you’re alright, except for being sick. Two: I’m twenty six and you declared me the lord of this country when you stepped down so you have no authority over me anymore. Three: Someone has to run the country and you are in here until Emma releases you, and that means it’s me even if you hadn’t declared me in charge and I can’t run a country if I’m grounded.”

“I told Gyoubu to lock you in your room, not just tell you you were grounded, so I’m going to talk to him about that once I’m free.” Isshin was grumbling now, but had settled on his pallet. Genichiro turned to leave and stopped when Isshin said his name.

“Tell Shume that as soon as Emma lets me out, he’s next.” 

“I will warn him, Grandfather.”

* * *

Genichiro was swearing under his breath as Gyoubu worried around him, making his slow way up the steps into Ashina Castle.

“Emma is on the second floor- not all the way in the back, but it’s still further than I’d like. Genichiro,-”

“If you pick me up at any point today I will bite you.” Genichiro managed. He didn’t have any other threat he could back up; as his most trusted retainer, Gyoubu Oniwa would be doing his job until Emma could stitch up the gash in his leg that one of the field medics had quickly bandaged. Genichiro stopped swearing about the pain for a moment to direct some curse words at the bandits who had decided to take advantage of the seeming peace around Ashina and attack one of the villages right outside the castle, like they wouldn’t be ready to defend.

“If I let you walk the entire way to Emma, Isshin-”

“I am in charge now. He is barely over his cold and is probably sulking in his rooms if he’s even woken up from Emma drugging him again. If Grandfather tries anything, I’ll talk to him.”

Genichiro wished he had let Gyoubu carry him, despite the inevitable wound to his pride. His leg felt like it was on fire. Emma was putting something together as Gyoubu got the suneate off his left leg. Shume, woken up by the noise, sat up carefully from his area in the corner.

“Don’t.” He knew that look; retainer or not Gyoubu was going to tell him off for being stubborn. “Either of you.” Shume raised his unbroken arm in defeat and laid back onto his pallet. Emma handed Genichiro a cup before he could say anything else and he drank without asking what it was. She probably wasn’t giving him the sleeping powder she had slipped Isshin; it was a pain to make apparently, so she tried not to waste it. This tasted like her normal painkiller. 

“I wish I could have helped with the bandits, but-”

“You brought this on yourself, Shume.” Gyoubu paused in his fretting next to Genichiro to frown at the general, before continuing to help take off the rest of his armor before Emma could ask. “The one thing Isshin told you not to talk about and you weren’t even drunk-”

“He didn’t need to know it was me-”

“Shume, stop harassing him, you did bring this on yourself now go back to sleep. Gyoubu, go check if Isshin woke up if you need something to do, you’re in my way. Genichiro, before that kicks in, can you get the rest of your armor off without squirming too much.” He knew better than to assume that was a question. The pain was trading off with brain fog by the time he got the rest of his armor off, and shortly after Gyoubu returned, half supporting a just woken up, wobbly and annoyed Isshin.

“You did not need to drug me  _ again _ Emma.” Just like almost every other time Genichiro had gotten hurt, Isshin settled next to him, one hand on his shoulder and reaching to grab his grandson’s hand. Genichiro was still conscious enough to see Shume faking sleep rather than talk to Isshin.

“You would have gone to fight the bandits and the last major battle you  _ did _ get hurt, Lord Isshin. I’d rather have you recover from your cold entirely before you start ignoring me again.”

“I don’t ignore you. I take what you say into consideration-”

“And then don’t follow any of it.” Genichiro was debating falling asleep, especially if Grandfather wanted to argue. There was nothing he could do on painkillers that couldn’t be better handled by someone else. He didn’t hear the rest of their argument; Grandfather’s presence next to him and the painkillers were usually enough for him to fall asleep regardless of what treatment was being done.

Isshin was finishing a monologue on why Emma needed to not be drugging him as she was not paying attention, finishing stitching the large cut on Genichiro’s leg. He had probably finally fallen asleep, like he tended to do with the normal pain killer; he had stopped twitching while she worked. She realized Isshin had stopped talking and was staring at her, like he expected a response. 

“Sorry Lord Isshin, I’m trying to focus on treating your grandson, not listen to you justify your behavior when you don’t listen to me.” He glared, but didn’t try to explain again. 

“....Is it bad?” He was waking up more now, and with that came more awareness that while he was grumbling at Emma, Genichiro had been injured very recently. 

“No worse than anything else he’s had. He’s going to stay on bed rest for a week or two, but he’ll be fine.” She finished bandaging the wound and looked up. “You can stay in here, but knowing him it’ll be a few hours before he wakes up.”

“Do you want me to stay in here?”

“No. You’ll be fretting around Genichiro until he wakes up or harassing Shume again. What did he do for you to knock him off a bridge, by the way? All I picked up was something about a story he shouldn’t have mentioned.”

“Yes, he shouldn’t have mentioned it. It looks like I’ll be out of retirement for a few days, Emma, so I probably have more paperwork to do. I’ll come by later in case he decides he can sneak away like he did when his back was injured.”

Genichiro slowly realized he was probably conscious which was not ideal, but not currently in pain, which was better. He sat up carefully to test this, head still mostly full of cotton; his leg hurt now that he was letting himself wake up, but it was a far away kind of pain. No Emma or Isshin nearby and Shume was asleep or still faking it. He checked his injured leg and was glad to see it bandaged neatly; he vaguely remembered Emma stitching it as Isshin grumbled at her, since he had probably drifted in and out of consciousness for a while due to whatever Emma used as a painkiller. 

This was good. He could be up and working again quickly, especially if Emma wasn’t around to tell him off or snitch on him to Grandfather, who did not tolerate his same doctor avoidance in Genichiro and would see him staying in the operatory until his leg was completely healed.

Emma walked in as he started to get up.

“Lay back down, Genichiro, you shouldn’t have any weight on that leg for a few weeks.”

“I have things to do, Emma, and you can’t drug  _ me _ because I’m expecting it.”

“I don’t have to drug you.” Emma knelt next to him and gave a sweet smile before checking that Shume was asleep and leaning in to whisper, “Oh Lord Isshin, when I was cleaning up Genichiro’s leg I saw a tattoo! I have no clue when he could have gotten it-” 

“I will tell him you helped.” But his mouth went dry, and both of them knew that was an empty threat. Isshin did not know about the tattoo that had Tomoe’s blood mixed with the ink that let him summon lightning like the okami; he had always been vocal that tattoos were something only criminals had. To say he would not be happy to find out his own grandson had one was an understatement.

“You think that will make a difference? He won’t kill you, probably, but you know if Gyoubu is anywhere in the castle except his rooms, the bath house or here being treated he has to be covered neck to wrists to ankles because he has tattoos everywhere and Isshin doesn’t like them. Your best case scenario here is being ordered to keep it covered, but he might order me to drug you and take it off.” Genichiro automatically moved his right leg further away from Emma, but sighed.

“I’ll stay put, then, as long as you don’t tell him. Um.” Emma remained where she was, but raised an eyebrow. “If I’m not allowed to leave, can you grab a servant for me and get them to bring my hair oil? I can’t let that go anymore, I’ll be hiding in my room for a week til it’s sitting flat again or I’ll get weird looks trying to hide it under a kabuto.”

“It used to take a couple days of not pouring stuff on your hair before it’d be standing on end. What’d you- it’s the tattoo, isn’t it.”

“Yes. Summoning lightning is and has been useful enough I’m willing to pay the price, even if that’s risking Grandfather’s wrath and waving off half the ministry’s envoys offers of whatever fancy new treatment for oily hair their snake oil salesmen have come up with.”

“Alright, I’ll have someone get it. But you need to stay  _ here _ , Genichiro. Walking around on that leg is going to leave you in pain even after it heals, just like what happened with your back.”

“I will stay here, Emma. Grandfather’s wrath is enough of a threat.” He laid back onto his pallet, feeling the pain start to come closer as Emma disappeared again. Probably the fading painkiller was the reason the scar on his back didn’t hurt right then; that injury had been the only time Isshin hadn’t shown up while he was being treated, because Isshin had been in charge of mopping up the rest of whatever uppity lord from the south’s forces were left, and he hadn’t been told that his grandson had taken an axe to the back until well after. 

Between him being busy and Dogen and Emma focusing on treating the other casualties, no one had stopped Genichiro from leaving the operatories as soon as he was fully awake and going back to his duties, and he had “enjoyed” a full week of mostly pretending to be fine to retainers who didn’t know until Gyoubu finally caught him outside and loudly asked what he was doing walking around when Dogen was freaking out about where he had gone, which had led to an uncomfortable hour of Isshin, Dogen, and Gyoubu all telling him off. His back had never fully healed from him not giving it a chance to.

Emma came back with a cup of something that helped the pain but wasn’t making him as tired, and shortly after someone left the jar of oil he used. Emma hadn’t seen him wave the servant over nor heard the request he made but did look over at the noise he made as the man left, opening the oil jar.

“Wrong stuff?”

“No, it smells right, I’m wondering what  _ that _ is.” He reached for a small bundle deposited with the oil, and held up his razor after a moment. “I guess he thought I’d need this too?”

“Oh, no I asked him to grab that. You’re on bed rest for the next week and seeing that scraggly excuse for a beard you get makes me sad.” She laughed at the betrayed look he gave her. “Maybe one day you’ll be able to grow a real beard, but let me know when you try so I can avoid you for a few weeks. Me breaking down laughing is not going to help.”

“Like you could do better,” Genichiro grumbled, putting the razor back down next to the small mirror the servant had also grabbed. Emma turned away, grinning, until the servant returned. The look she gave Genichiro when the man walked back in with an armful of reports, wages, and the other miscellaneous paperwork running a country took made him think twice about actually working on any of it.

“Go back to making fun of my facial hair Emma, I have stuff to do.”

“Isshin can handle the paperwork for two weeks, Genichiro. He’s planning on it, actually.”

“I don’t like how he handles it, though. Isn’t he still woozy from you drugging him?”

“No, because that wears off quickly.  _ You _ are going to be woozy from the painkiller and shouldn’t be taxing yourself for a few days at the minimum. And right now I’m deciding that means go back to sleep, Genichiro, before I have to use more of the sleeping powder.” 

“Fine. I’ll just have to make sure Nobuaki checks it for me.”

“Isshin’s been doing this paperwork for almost your entire life, you don’t need someone to check it either.”

“Emma, you didn’t have to deal with the backlog of papers.  _ Trust _ me. Grandfather is  _ brilliant _ with a sword and I think he sold any organizing or proofreading abilities he could have had for it. Nobuaki gave me a jar of Dragonspring the day after I took over doing it because he checked everything and realized he wouldn’t have to fix all of it anymore.”

Emma gave the noncommittal hum of someone who had inherited a mess of papers and had done nothing but make it worse with marginally better handwriting.

“Actually, I should go back to sleep in case he comes by to ask why I betrayed him by getting hurt. He doesn’t like how much more work Grandfather’s paperwork is.”

“That’s a good plan.” Emma started half-heartedly straightening the only stack of papers she hadn’t hidden in her room until she heard Genichiro’s breathing settle. She could take the stack to Nobuaki herself, in case he was faking it. Shume was still asleep, Genichiro had drifted off, she could run a simple errand. Or she could have someone else do it and start making more painkiller. She nodded to herself and once one of the apprentices arrived for the afternoon sent him off with the papers.

Isshin stopped by that evening, shortly after Genichiro woke back up. 

“Still alright?”

“As much as I can be since I’m not allowed to work on anything right now.” Emma had stepped out, leaving an apprentice to make sure Genichiro and Shume didn’t get up. She was making some salve at the counter along one wall and was probably listening and pretending not to. 

“Now you know why I didn’t want to be stuck in the sickroom.”

“Yes, but I am going to  _ stay _ here, Grandfather, until she tells me I can leave.” Genichiro saw no reason to tell Isshin that he had also tried to escape as soon as he thought he could. “Because I am supposed to be in charge and I can’t do my job unless I’m well.” 

“Good. Stay here and heal.  _ I _ am in charge again for the next few days, and I will handle everything.” Isshin nodded to his grandson, straightened up, and turned to leave. He paused at the door. “By the way, Genichiro, since you’re stuck here… you’re grounded until further notice for conspiring with Emma to drug me.” He left quickly before Genichiro could say anything. Shume, faking sleep in his corner, turned towards Genichiro with a grin and was met with a tired glare. 

“Since you’re grounded, Genichiro… I can’t talk about the bowstring incident,” Shume gestured at his broken arm and leg, “But I know a couple more stories I don’t think you’re heard, or you only heard Isshin’s version that left out all the good parts.”

“Please. Emma forbade me from doing paperwork and I’m getting bored already.”

“Alright. I don’t think I told you about that time we got our hands on a jar of unrefined sake when we were fifteen and woke up half the village singing.”

* * *

“Lord Kuro, you wanted to see me?” It was just one thing after another, it seemed like. Emma hadn’t had more than a few hours rest for the past two weeks, between keeping Isshin in one place until he was over his cold and blackmailing Genichiro to stay on bed rest, though he had finally been allowed to get up and move back to his room, leaving Shume alone in her operatory until his broken bones were healed. Now, she had gotten a summons from Kuro, who, to his credit, looked sorry for having made her come this way.

“Yes, Lady Emma…” He dropped his voice to a whisper, glancing around the room. “It’s Wolf. He doesn’t look- well, you know how he is, but he looks- sick. Worse than normal.” Kuro flinched saying that, like admitting the truth was bad. Since the first time she had seen him, Wolf had always looked badly in need of a shave, a full meal, and eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. “I think he has for a day or two, but he’s only been here to check in.”

“Where is he right now, do you know?”

“He hasn’t checked in yet today, so he’s later than normal.” Kuro perked up suddenly; Emma had also heard the distinctive sounds of the shinobi prosthetic’s grappling hook nearby. 

Wolf paused a moment before jumping up to the open window that let him into the lookout tower room. He had woken up the day before to his throat on fire and his entire body aching, and knew if he stayed in the lookout tower room too long Kuro was going to call Emma. 

He knew a handful of cures for illnesses like this, some of the only knowledge he kept from before his mother had died. He even remembered what most of the plants needed for the cures looked like, due to the nursery song she had used as a tune to teach him. 

He hadn’t known if any of them were in Ashina, however; there were very few places to check with how poor the soil was, but he was more tired than he remembered being for a long time and hadn’t managed to check all of them before passing out in an abandoned corner of Senpou Temple, away from the Inner Sanctum, where Mizuho had returned for a while to talk with the other Divine Children. 

None of the plants he remembered had been anywhere he had looked, but he needed to check in with Kuro and was hoping he didn’t look sick enough for his lord to call Emma. He had slept more than his normal hour and a half at a time due to the fatigue and had woken up well past sunrise, so he was trying to hurry but his body was fighting back and he’d had to stop twice to rest.

Emma was already inside, talking to Kuro. He knelt, carefully ignoring her until he had finished apologizing for being late and assuring Kuro everything was fine. She waited until he was standing to drag him over to one side.

“Wolf, your arm is flaring up again, isn’t it.” Emma couldn’t just tell him she could see how bad he looked, he would leave; but she was willing to take her normal estimate of the man and bump it up to several days of sleep with a couple full meals breaking it up. And then a shave, his excuse for a beard looked almost as bad as Genichiro’s. He nodded, and she saw relief flare in his eyes for a second. He must have thought he was hiding how obviously sick he was. 

“Lord Kuro noticed. I can make tea for it, come on.” Kuro was nodding approval, so Emma set off on the least used route through the castle to her operatory and was pulling out the herbs she needed for the tea before Wolf was fully inside. Hopefully he hadn’t seen her pull out another little packet from her dwindling store. Shume probably did, awake and sitting in a corner, but he was doing the exercises she had ordered him to and uncharacteristically kept his mouth shut.

“Drink.” Wolf did; the tea had helped with phantom limb pain in his missing arm before, and now he was hoping it would help with the aching. Emma did not seem to think he was sick, though part of him was worried she knew and was planning on doing someth- wait, Isshin had been drugged to stay in one place when he got sick a few weeks ago, hadn’t he? It had been a full three days before Wolf had seen him out as the Tengu of Ashina again. Wolf looked at the empty cup he suddenly regretted drinking as quickly as he did, then at Emma, who knelt next to him and took the cup.

“I am a doctor, Wolf. If I can prevent a plague spreading through this country, I will. Like I did with the dragonrot, when you started spreading that. And like I am doing now, since you’re visibly seriously ill. Other than looking like death warmed over and the obvious fever, what symptoms do you have?”

Wolf glared at her for a moment before deciding that he was not going to not respond out of childish annoyance at being careless enough to let her drug him. “Throat on fire. Headache. Everything aches. Tired. I was fine two days ago.” 

“Well, you’re staying in my sickrooms until further notice. Kuro knows, he’s the one who asked me to check, he’ll be fine.” Wolf was fighting to keep his eyes open and swaying slightly. She had given him a larger dosage than she would usually give Isshin; he may have been almost a foot and a half shorter, but Isshin was skinny whereas Wolf would have been considered stocky if he ate more and she wasn’t risking drugging Genichiro at the same time for him.

Wolf’s face stayed blank as he tried to think through the headache; he had not yet had a positive experience with a sickroom, having been confined to Owl’s several times. He might be able to find a spot on the roof to curl up in for a few hours until this wore off, then resume his hunt for the herbs that could help this. He did not want to disobey Kuro, but since he hadn’t actually been ordered to stay here...

Emma lunged as Wolf took off towards the door, but he only made it three steps before the sleeping drug kicked in; Emma swore under her breath as she barely managed to catch him and drag him into the sickroom and onto a pallet, then rubbed at her arm as she found blankets. “Don’t you say a word.” Shume raised his good hand in acceptance rather than tell her off for swearing. 

“I was going to say I’m surprised you managed to find someone worse than Isshin about listening to a doctor.”

“I can keep Wolf here if I need to, I just have to ask Kuro to order him. I can’t do that with Isshin, so he’s worse.” She carried the blankets into the sickroom and paused for a moment, looking at Wolf; generally she’d ask anyone in armor to take it off either before or while she was treating them, but between how much of the sleeping drug she had given him and him trying to run that hadn’t happened. She decided to tell him to take it off when the drug wore off; he didn’t need to wake up to anything different except for being on a pallet with several blankets piled on top of him, especially if he tried to run just from being told he would be confined for a few days.

There were deep shadows on the walls when Wolf woke up; it looked like it was late afternoon. He remembered trying to escape, but the sleeping drug had hit him full force before he could.

He shifted slightly, biting his lip rather than making sound when moving still hurt, and was unsurprised to see he was wrapped in blankets in one of the smaller rooms off Emma’s main operatories. What was surprising was that she had just dragged him in here and not tried to remove his armor, though now that he was looking Kusabimaru and the Mortal Blade were both on a stand near the door. He even still had the shinobi prosthetic.

The few times he had been sick and the many times he had been injured enough to need treatment while Owl was training him, he’d woken up at some point in the empty room Owl used as a sickbay wearing hakama, his old kimono, and his scarf, and Owl would berate him for getting sick or injured whenever Owl stopped by; he had learned the hard way to wait for Owl to come by, rather than try and leave as soon as he was awake.

Emma apparently didn’t have the same views about how to treat someone who was unconscious and not currently in life threatening danger, and it was reassuring, but Wolf was still going to be cautious.

There was a knock, then the door slid open a few minutes after he woke up. Emma looked in and made a quiet “oh” sound when he opened his eyes; this room was dark enough they were probably glowing, giving him his night vision.

“I’m glad you’re finally awake, Wolf. I can get more tea for the aching and the fever if you give me just a minute. If you can get your armor off for me, that’d be a help, but if you’re more comfortable with it on, leave it.” And she went back into the main room, shutting the door behind her again. Wolf stayed still for a few seconds; he had a choice, well, probably not about staying in the sickroom, but if he wanted to take off his armor? He never got a choice for that, Owl just took it off whether he was awake or not. He thought about it for a moment, but not wearing it would probably help Emma and he probably wouldn’t be attacked here. He could make sure the new knots he was using to compensate for the prosthetic’s nonexistent fine motor control worked like he needed them to as well.

“Can I come in?” Emma entered with the tea in response to Wolf’s yes; he was in the exact same position, curled up under the blankets, except the pallet had been dragged over to a corner so he could have his back against a wall and there was a pile of armor in a different corner. She put the cup down next to his head as he started shifting to sit up.

“There’s just something for the aching in that one. If you can stay awake for a few minutes longer I’ll bring food in, too.”

“I think I’ll be fine-”

“No. You need to eat something, Wolf, and I’m putting my foot down on this. If I have to bring Kuro over here to sit at the door and order you to.”

“...Alright, Lady Emma.” He drained the tea and curled back under the blankets as she left to check on the food she’d asked for from the kitchen. She knocked before she came in, and he had expected her to insist on him eating, but she wasn’t pushing him to do anything else and she wasn’t berating him for getting sick and Wolf felt safe in a sickroom for the first time because of it.

He had probably fallen asleep again when she came back, but he started moving as soon as she opened the door. 

“Eat this. All of it, Wolf, or at least try to? If nothing else you’ll stay sick longer if you’re hungry.” He nodded as he pushed himself into a sitting position again and took the bowl carefully as Emma heard someone call for her and left. 

She hadn’t closed the door all the way, he realized, and debated leaving as soon as he finished shoveling the rice into his mouth; but how Emma treated him as a patient was more reassuring than any other sickroom experience he had had so far, and anyway, she said Kuro had asked her to do this? He should probably stay put. He could go back to sleep in a few minutes, and maybe he could sleep away the fatigue.

Emma realized she had left the sickroom door unlocked and slightly open after reassuring one of the retainers that Isshin was doing better. She looked inside, expecting Wolf to be gone since he had not wanted to be in the room to begin with; but Wolf was either asleep again or just curled up with his eyes shut in the corner, the empty bowl next to him. 

* * *

Wolf had spent two days in the sickrooms and left the evening before, with Emma finally satisfied that he wouldn’t be spreading another plague around Ashina. He had given her a weird look before leaving, and Emma hadn’t paid it any mind, hoping she would finally get a rest from people getting sick or injured.

She was not happy when she woke up the next morning with her throat on fire and every muscle in her body complaining.  _ Wolf got me sick _ she should have been annoyed; she did not have the energy to be annoyed. Instead she dragged herself from her quarters back to the operatory, covered her mouth as she told Yui, the one awake apprentice, to let her sleep this out, and almost immediately passed back out in the sickrooms.

She woke up to someone opening the door and walking inside; she could hear Yui trying to stop them and failing abysmally as Shume provided unneeded commentary from his corner. 

“Emma dear, Wolf told me you were sick.” 

“Orangutan? You never come to the castle anymore.”

“You’re sick and I can’t rely on Dogen to take care of you, so I am going to. I can’t catch this one.”

“Thank you.” Emma curled back up, listening to the Sculptor starting to make tea. After a few minutes there was a cup placed near her head and the sounds of him pulling the freshly cleaned blankets out of their storage. He waited til she had finished the tea to pull a pallet over and cover her with blankets.

“I’ll stick around until we’re sure you’re better, Emma. I remember the last time you caught this.”

“That was easily a decade ago, Orangutan.”

“And? I remember a servant telling me Dogen was panicking and I was fully expecting to find you dying when I got here. It’s not something I’m going to forget very easily.”

“Okay.” Emma had a difficult time sleeping when she was sick; her nose was too stuffed up to breathe through and she wanted to curl into a ball but always ended up sitting up. Suddenly what Orangutan had said sunk in.

“Wolf told you I was sick?  _ Wolf _ did?”

“Yes, Emma dear, he came down to the temple early this morning and told me you were probably sick, and that someone needed to know. I wouldn’t be surprised if he knows a lot of what’s happening in the castle, it’s his job-”

“ _ Wolf got me sick _ of course he knew, he just spent the last two days passed out in this room.”

“...He didn’t mention that. Doesn’t matter, I’ll talk to him later. I’m your caretaker for the next few days now.”

Emma figured out a comfortable spot to lean against a wall and try to sleep despite her stuffy nose as Orangutan began working on a small block of wood. She must have slept at some point, because when she opened her eyes again he was getting a bowl of something through the door from the apprentice and the block was beginning to take form. 

“Here, Emma. Lunch. I’ll make more tea.”

“Is that going to be a snake?” 

“Of course. Hanbei can carve the Buddha for a few days, I’ll carve the serpent god for his most devoted follower.” He laughed at the face she made, then, “Do you still have those little glass things full of snakes? Do I need to do anything for those-”

“No, too busy. I released them when Isshin started getting sick, no time to socialize them anymore.”

“Oh. Pity. I may have to start looking for more.” He handed a cup to Emma as she ate and started carving again. “I liked that little blue one.”

“I’ll find another one, eventually. Maybe once everything settles down. If Genichiro doesn’t notice me doing it, he doesn’t like snakes for some reason.”

“I’m sure it has nothing to do with you throwing them at him when you were little.”

“Of course not.” Emma curled back up and went back to sleeping as Orangutan continued his carving.

A few hours later Emma drifted back into consciousness to an empty room and arguing going on in the main operatory. She frowned for a minute, trying to concentrate through her headache, and realized that it was Orangutan arguing with Isshin.

“No, you need to  _ leave _ and someone else will update you, Isshin.”

“You cannot order me around in my own land, Sekijo, if I want to talk to Emma-”

“Lord Isshin, I am not talking to you right now.” Emma dragged herself up and over to the closed door, covering her mouth for good measure. “This isn’t the cold you had, this is serious, and if you catch  _ this _ your retainers will be after my head. You can talk to one of my apprentices for a few days.”

“Emma-”

“I’m not kidding, Lord Isshin. You’ll have to talk to Yui until I’m better.”

“Now  _ let her sleep _ Isshin. Or  _ I _ will drug you this time so you leave her alone.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll leave. Get better soon, Emma.” And he left, and Orangutan came back inside.

Genichiro showed up the next morning, and did not even try to go into the sickroom. 

“Grandfather warned me. Can I bring anything from your room? Orangutan, do you need anything while you’ll be here?”

“She needs you not to get hurt for a few days, now go back to what you were doing.” Muffled talking for a moment. “And the blanket with faded cranes on it in her room, if you have a minute. I’ll be fine.”

Wolf did not stop to say anything or even actually come inside; around lunchtime that day a small bundle showed up on one of the window ledges you would have had to be walking around on the roof to get to.

“It says ‘sorry for getting you sick’ so it was definitely him.” Orangutan offered the package to Emma, who read the scrap of paper’s large, careful handwriting before opening it.

“...oh, it’s the plants I use for the aching and the fever. Fresh ones, they’re always a bit of a trek to find. My stock was running low, he must have decided to get more.”

“He must think that might make up for getting you sick.”

“Well, it means I don’t have to go looking for them.” Emma handed the package over for Orangutan to put in the main operatory. 

“I’ll make some more tea since you’re awake, Emma. You just rest.”

**Author's Note:**

> I like to think that with the everyone lives au Scultptor went "wait, Wolf doesn't have the shura anymore. I just need something to focus on to get rid of it" and chose Let's Help Hanbei's Mental Health, so Hanbei has been spending a lot of time in the temple carving Buddha statues recently. 
> 
> I'm still a fan of Emma liking snakes/lizards a lot.
> 
> Suneate are leg armor, btw. Hakama are pants. Kuro's outer layer is a kimono (and I found out a bit ago that Wolf is not wearing an orange haori (jacket), he's wearing the same kid's kimono he had in the opening cutscene.
> 
> (what is the bowstring incident? here: https://poisonhemloc.tumblr.com/post/611413486107541504/okay-this-is-for-the-stray-liger-because-they )


End file.
